


Letters of the Damned

by Rennez



Series: The Voice of Despair [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Angst, But after death, Canonical Character Death, Character death is for juzo and chisa, Confessions, Despair, Emotional Baggage, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I like pain and suffering, I need sleep, I'm Sorry, Insanity, Letters, Love Confessions, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Munakata goes off his rocker a lot, SO, SUFFER WITH ME, Sad, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, She's a ghost, Spoilers, Suicide, Surprise Bitches, Swearing, Warning: Enoshima Junko, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?, but it turned into a sobfest, i have the mouth of a sailor, in letter form, it was meant to be a little bit of angst, munakata hears voices, she's also a bitch, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-18 03:43:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rennez/pseuds/Rennez
Summary: After the end of the final killing game, Munakata is left alone to clear out his best friends old office. He thinks it'll be a way to get over their deaths, to find closure. But while cleaning out Juzo's desk he finds letters addressed to Chisa Yukizome and himself. What could they possibly say? He's about to find out.





	1. Finding hidden treasure

**Author's Note:**

> My first REAL fanfic, wow, I'm so honored right now. Nah, but seriously this is my first fanfic so I'm bound to screw up, please let me know if you see any mistakes with writing or grammar because I found that Grammarly is NOT reliable. So, sit back and enjoy the shitty fanfic! (May/May not continue... meh) And regarding WHY I wrote Munakata so... angsty(?) is that after the killing game, he probably has survivors guilt, like BIG time, and he probably blames himself for his friends death. So yeah, angsty Munakata, deal with it.

The worst thing Munakata had to do since the Final Killing Game ended was remember it. He didn't want to think about Chisa's body falling from the ceiling, or how he had stabbed Juzo and left him for dead. He didn't want to think about any of it, but he had to. In order to properly remember and honor them, he had to remember the good and the bad about his time with the only people who genuinely cared about him. He had to remember that he abandoned Chisa when she needed him most and that it was _his fault_ that Juzo was dead. 

He froze in the middle of walking and started shaking - whether it was because of laughter or tears is an unanswered question, even to himself. He allowed himself this moment of insanity because he was walking to his, now dead, best friends former office. Juzo Sakakura was dead and gone and somebody had to clean out his office, and someone insane thought that it had best be Munakata.

He didn't know WHY it had to be him, but he decided that it was probably the best form of therapy for him. Best and only form if he's being honest, a world of despair doesn't exactly focus on fixing psychological problems. Not that he had actually looked into therapy.

Because he didn't actually deserve it... _did he_?

No, he didn't. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Each new no came after he put his foot down, a single continuous beat in the swirling sounds and cries of a despairful, broken man. He didn't deserve it, he didn't deserve any sort of restitution.

It was HIS fault, his fault, all his fault. It was his fault for not noticing that Chisa was Despair, it was his fault for not listening to Juzo, it was his fault that everyone he had ever cared about had died trying to save him. And why? Why had so many people died so someone as gullible as he could live, he had said that he fought for hope but his own ideas and ideals blinded him from seeing the truth, so much so what he thought was hope was actually despair.

The only reason he hadn't already joined his friends, in the (hopeful) nothingness that was the death, was because they had dedicated their lives to him, and it would be a shame just to waste them. Their beautiful, young lives all gone. Because he was a moron, an idiot blinded by despair disguising itself as hope.

Chisa could have done better things than try and help him expose the board for their experiments, maybe she wouldn't have become Despair and died. Maybe, maybe, maybe. That was all his life was now, a bunch of maybes. Maybe they wouldn't have all died, maybe they could've caught Junko Enoshima before she had plunged everything into the chaotic depths of her sick fantasies.

Maybe Juzo could have had a better life, become a world famous champion and rule the boxing world. Instead, he became a security guard at a fucked up academy for insane despair children and died a horrible death at Munakata's own hands. Well, not quite but he might as well have. But... why did he lie about Junko?

That was a common question that Munakata asked himself after he had time to properly reflect on his emotions, apparently, the hope child, sorry, _Makoto_ , had noticed and told him what little information that he knew. That Juzo had been blackmailed, but with what? That Makoto hadn't known.

Munakata thought that their friend group could share anything with each other, they were like family, no, they _were_ family. But that had obviously gone to absolute shit. So maybe Juzo just didn't feel the same way. Maybe he never did, maybe he was just playing along with him and Yukizome, giving them the illusion of a perfect friendship.

So who were Juzo Sakakura and Chisa Yukizome?

Kyosuke Munakata's only friends, the closest people in the world to him. And he stomped on them, crushed their bodies and their souls. He didn't deserve a damn thing.

But maybe, just... maybe he deserved closure. 

But not like this, not like this. Not going through his former friend's office and stripping it of what made him human. Not crushing his life into a few cheap, cardboard boxes, that was too cruel. Juzo was not the nicest person, Munakata could admit that, but... he had genuinely cared about people despite that. Juzo fucked up, a lot, but he tried harder than most to fix his mistakes.

But no one knew who he was, no one would ever know who he was. Juzo was a good person. Chisa was a beautiful soul. And who would remember them? Who? No one, that's the answer. So Munakata had to, these people had to be remembered. All of them, Chisa, Bandai, Gozu, Kimura, Izayoi, Gekkogahara, Kizakura, Ando, Sakakura and even...even...Tengan.

They all had no one left but each other, and everyone who had known them was dead. Except for Munakata. Sure the hope duo themselves were there, but did they really know them? Sure they spouted their platitudes and left, but did they _really_ know who had died for them. For hope?

But Munakata can't bring himself to blame them, they are just kids after all. Kids who had the rug pulled out from under them and forced to follow the whims of a nonsensical world. A world of chaos and despair, a world Munakata himself had helped create. So, in the end, Munakata could only blame himself for all the death and destruction that had happened.

Not that Munakata didn't already blame himself heavily for what had happened. He had run away after the killing game, took the cowards way out. Left for a month, maybe two. He had hidden and thought hard, he hadn't cried. No tears for the dead, no use in wasting them. Until he forced himself back to the Future Foundation because work needed to be done. The world needed his help, so it didn't matter if his hands were drenched in blood.

It...didn't matter... nothing mattered. If...nothing mattered... maybe he'd be... better off dead. Yeah... dead. With Chisa and Juzo and Bandai and Gozu and Seiko and Sonnosuke and Miaya and Koichi and Ruruka and Kazuo and... and... and...

He shook his head violently, bringing his hands up to his temples. He forced the thoughts out, he would repress them and crush them. They had no place in his world.

After finishing his task he continued his activities, trying to regain some of his former dignity. He put on the charade until he stopped in front of an unassuming door. It looked so innocent, just a normal door. But in Munakata's mind, it was towering over and laughing at him, laughing at his weakness and his cowardly ways. Laughing at his inability to save even one of them.

This was common now, to have visions of people looking at him. Even objects, things that weren't human, shaming him because... he deserved it. He so deserved it because... because... it doesn't matter now, does it. All that matters now is finding closure with Juzo.

He had already cleaned out Chisa's office, it had been small but full of different pictures. Pictures of her, Juzo and especially Kyosuke. It hadn't been easy, taking them down and putting them neatly into boxes. He couldn't bear to keep them in his home so he had to put them into storage. Chisa's life, forever locked up somewhere, never to see the light of day again.

Munakata tried to think of happy memories with his friends, memories that gave him courage and made him continue pushing forward no matter what happened. He thought of these as he placed his hand on the freezing doorknob.

He thought of every Valentine's day how Chisa would give him and Juzo chocolate, and how he always found a mysterious inedible batch in his locker, as he turned doorknob and heard the lock click.

He thought of how himself and Chisa always went to Juzo's fights to cheer him on, and how Chisa would busy over him after it was done, putting bandages on his wounds all while Kyosuke watched, smiling to himself. He thought of this as he started to push open the door.

He thought of how they would come to every student council meeting they could, despite not being on the council and almost getting banned, twice, just to see him use his talent and be happy. He thought of this as he swung open the dust-covered door to Juzo's office.

And lastly, he thought of their cold, dead, bodies and how they could have been saved, as he stepped into the office.


	2. Memories of old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah... I'm continuing. I view this as an exercise to improve my writing skills and length so I will mess up. Just let me know and try not to be too much of a dick about it, that's all I ask. Anyways, Bye!

The office wasn't as scary as Munakata though it would be. In fact, it looked just like any other office would, plain and boring. It was sparsely decorated except for a few picture frames on the desk at the back of the room. The room itself was small, it was 12 x 12 at most. Future Foundation didn't waste any unnecessary space, even on important people like Sakakura. 

The door opened into the room through a corner on the right side, and on the left side wall was Sakakura's old desk. On the far most wall was a singular square window. It had no panes and its frame was a peeling beige color. The whole room was painted grey with stucco walls. It was lit by a lamp in the corner directly facing Munakata and a singular desk lamp on Sakakura's desk. 

The desk had one chair behind it, and one in front. Besides the desk lamp, almost nothing was on the surface of the desk. There were a few unsigned papers on top and a singular pen. Munakata repressed an insane giggle because even in such times as these, Sakakura still found the time to messy and unorganized. 

Munakata took shaky steps to his dead best friends desk. His _dead_ friends desk. Sakakura was never, ever coming back and Munakata had to accept that. It was his responsibility because if he had just...( _what? gotten there sooner? believed Juzo like a decent goddamn person? not been so obsessed with eradicated despair? seen the warning signs in Chisa? there are so many to choose from, take a pick you spineless piece of shit. you could've saved them all, but you failed and failed and FA-_ )

Munakata didn't realize that his eyes were watering until he felt his shirt getting damp with his tears. But by then his tears showed no signs of slowing down. No, no, no! He thought, this isn't right, no tears for the dead. I have to focus on the... future. 

Future? He almost scoffed at the word, there was no future. Not for him at least. There was no hope or future waiting for him, the only thing he could do was at least try and make everything a little less fucked before he went and died. But not by his own hand, no, that would be disrespecting Yukizome ( _call her Chisa, that's what she wanted, right?!_ ) and Sakakura. They would kill him if he killed himself. ( _Maybe that's what they want you to do..._ )

The little voice was always there, constantly prodding at his brain, trying to make him hate himself even more than he already did. Well too bad, he couldn't possibly have any more hate left to spare, he was using it all on himself, so any efforts by this demon voice would be useless. Was that really something to be proud of, he thought, is this really what's protecting me from insanity?

Maybe Chisa and Juzo were wrong, maybe I'm not the hope for the world. Maybe I'm just a parasite, a parasite that feeds off of others and when they're done giving all they can give, they die. He spiraled into the pit of self-hate and self-pity, pity because he was all alone, desperate and hate because he didn't deserve to feel something like pity when he had messed everything up.

It was only the fact that his hand started dripping blood that got him out of his fugue state. His nails had dug so hard into the palm of his hand that it had started bleeding, there was a small puddle on the floor with a few drops splattered outside of it.

Shocked, he brought his hand up to his face to gauge how bad the wound was. There were four evident crescent shapes in the middles of his palms with blood slowly spilling out of his body. He suddenly got hit by vertigo and felt the need to vomit.

He couldn't stand the sight of blood, and here it was, right here on his hands. ( _like it wasn't already there before, you can't fool me. coward. i know your secrets, you know you deserve every ounce of pain you receive_ )

Ever since...since...( _don't be a pussy, call it what it is, **'The horrible event that could've been avoided if you hadn't had your head stuck so far up your ass you could smell what you ate for dinner yesterday'**_ ) the Final Killing Game, the sight of blood gave him a horrible feeling. He had experienced enough of its coppery smell and vibrant color to last lifetimes.

But apparently not his, he would always be cursed to see it's horrid color. The horrible knowledge that someone...was hurt, dying, beyond saving. That he himself was beyond saving. It hurt, it would always hurt. 

( _oh like you know ANYTHING about pain, what do you think Sakakura felt when you stabbed him, and when you couldn't even sense something wrong with Chisa?_ )

"Stop." Munakata said, he didn't need his own subconscious constantly degrading him.

( _why should **I** show **you** mercy? you never gave any to anyone else, did you? no wonder Tengan was able to orchestrate it all so easily, you were already a primed killing machine, weren't you?_ )

"You are nothing more than a voice in my head, go away." Munakata affirmed, more to himself than the voice. But he voice was technically himself? So still himself?

( _i am more than a voice that you made up to help deal with your crippling hatred and guilt, it is rightly deserved might i add, but i am truth itself. and truth is, you don't deserve to live. **they** didn't deserve to die so someone like YOU could live!_ )

"I know that, but you do not need to keep telling me so." Munakata said, slowly getting more agitated. His bloody fists clenching in annoyance.

( _don't need to? i need to, i need to make sure that a worthless piece of shit like you suffers as much as you deserve to._ )

"Shut up and go away." Munakata could feel his composed facade slipping away, like sand on a beach.

( _nope. never going away, not until you die a horrible, painful, excruciating death like they did! because that's what you deserve, no it's a gift! you don't deserve anything, not even my mere presence._ )

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! **SHUT _UP_**!" Munakata yelled, dropping to his knees with his hands wrapped around his head. Get the voices out, he told himself, get them out, you better get them out before they(you) do something crazy. 

The voice ceased, disappearing as if it were never there in the first place. Munakata still sat there on his knees, his head in his hands and breathing hard. He started shaking, almost crying again. He dug his nails into his open wound and hissed as it brought him back from the brink a bigger emotional breakdown. He stayed in this position until he was ready to start cleaning out Sakakura's office. 

\--------------------------------

Despite his outburst of flat-out insanity earlier, the cleaning of Sakakura's office wasn't too hard. After getting up from the floor, Munakata had grabbed a dusty box that was near Sakakura's desk and started piling some things into it. There wasn't much, so it was a speedy process.

A few pens, a few papers, a picture frame or two. And soon the entire top of the desk was completely cleared off, in fact, it looked like Sakakura was never there in the first place. Munakata stopped for a moment as he thought about it, and quickly shook it away.

He had a task to get done and emotion breakdowns should be at night when no one can hear them and report them to the new head, Makoto Naegi. That's right, Makoto Naegi - a child - was in charge of a national organization to help save the world. But the only other choice was Munakata, and he... he didn't want to... run the Future Foundation. And it's not like anyone questioned him turning it down, they all knew on a basic level that he was too mentally fucked to be able to do anything important.

Naegi's first order of business was opening up safe living areas for refugees and distributing food, and then, of course, rebuilding Hope's Peak. Hell, the kid had even offered him a position at the academy. But... he could tell that it was only pity that drove Naegi to offer it to him, he didn't actually think Munakata would be suitable for a position at the school. 

Then the kid started to slowly transfer leadership over to some higher-up nobody that was good at doing what they were told, so he could focus on bringing more talent and _hope_ into this world. Munakata had come to despise the world hope. And despair, he was sick of it. Sick of all of it. But, again, still had a job to do. He would try to achieve his friends' dreams, it was the least he could do seeing as how he was currently shoving the entirety of their lives into boxes.

Munakata continued clearing until it was time to look inside of the desk. He walked around to the other side and opened the door, he sifted through a notebook or two. Until he came upon two letters, one with Yukizome's name and one with his own name on it. He put the box on the desk and sat down in Sakakura's old chair. He looked at Yukizome's and decided that he shouldn't read it. It was meant for her and her only.

He looks at the letter with his name on it and sighed. He had so many questions, like did Sakakura forget to mail these or are these after death letters? Well, he won't know until he reads it. He steels himself for any sort of emotional onslaught and tries his best not to wreck the sealed envelope as he opens it. Eventually, he pulls out a letter, scrawled with messy words and as he looks at the first lines, he realizes that this is going to be one of the hardest things he's ever had to do.

**Dear ~~Muna~~ ~~Kyosuke~~ Munakata, I suppose if you're reading this, then I'm dead. If I'm not dead, or in a coma I'll never wake up from, put this letter back or I'll punt your ass to next Thursday. Now if I am dead, the first things I have to say is... I'm sorry for failing you and... I'm sorry for lying about Junko Enoshima, and I'll explain everything in this letter.**


	3. Juzo's Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, because I have an assload of free time, I've decided to try and write as many chapters as I humanly can because... I have no life. And if I continue writing until 3 am, I make a lot of dumbass mistakes. Anyways, enjoy the show!

Munakata was shocked, Sakakura - his Sakakura - had written a letter to him, in case he would die. ( _well that's just fortunate, isn't it?_ )

The voice...the voice was back, of course, and just in time to read Sakakura's letter because torturing Munakata wasn't enough for it. ( _damn skippy, coward, looks like you have some form of intelligence after all, maybe you aren't a mindless-despair-driven killing machine. ah, who you are kidding, of course you are, you limp dick, spineless, cowar-_ ) 

"Shut up. I already know the things you say to be true, you do not need to continue. I do not wish to have a... repeat of what happened." Munakata said, staring at his hands. More specifically, at the letter. It didn't respond so Munakata could only continue reading.

###### 

**Dear ~~Muna~~ ~~Kyosuke~~ Munakata, I suppose if you're reading this, then I'm dead. If I'm not dead, or in a coma I'll never wake up from, put this letter back or I'll punt your ass to next Thursday. Now if I am dead, the first things I have to say is... I'm sorry for failing you and... I'm sorry for lying about Junko Enoshima, and I'll explain everything in this letter.**

**The thing I want you to know is that... I never meant to hurt you and Yukizome, or the world. But mostly you. I'm sorry, but I was weak and _she_ sensed it. Junko Enoshima, I mean. Even writing that name makes me angry enough to kill. She found out something about me, something I wanted to hide from everyone, especially you. You would never look at me the same way after you found out. You would hate me and leave me. You and Yukizome. And she knew it, she knew I was too much of coward to have you find out, so she blackmailed me to say she was innocent.**

**She found out... that I loved you. That I was... _in_ love with you. And that I never, ever, wanted you to find out because... you and Yukizome, my only friends, would leave me. I was scared, so scared, scared enough to agree to her demands. I was weak and cowardly, and I failed you. I'm sorry that I messed up again, I'm sorry that it was in a way that can never be fixed. I let the Ultimate Despair go free just because I was too weak to tell you how I feel.**

**And that might be why I hated Makoto Naegi. That little shit bird got to take her out and I didn't. He was stronger than I was, mentally that is, that little chicken-legged freak couldn't hope to beat me in a fist fight.**

**I just think that if I'm dead and I tell you all this, maybe I won't feel the pain of abandonment and maybe we can still be friends until I die. And that maybe I can hold on a little longer. I want to make it all up to you and Yukizome. I want to be useful to you, and I want to try and make up for this world I caused. But I know that with the way things are right now, that might never happen. I might never get to do these things.**

**I probably never will, but until I die... I'm going to try and be better. I want to be useful to you and the world so I'm going to try to be. I refuse to give up trying to fix my mistakes, if I do, she'll win. And I refuse to have that despair-bitch ruin the world, and me, from beyond the grave. ******

********

********

**But if you're reading this, then I've failed. But maybe I failed doing something good, and maybe I failed while to try and save people. That's all I can ask. I want to be good and to be better. But I never will be, I'll always have this weight on my shoulder from guilt. But that will never stop me from trying.**

**I know that you'll never feel the same way about me as I do you. I want you to be happy with Yukizome because she loves you too, and I can see you starting to feel the same way about her.**

**Please, don't blame yourself for anything, because nothing was your fault. If I'm going to die, I'm not going to be killed by you. And don't blame yourself for my feelings either, because those are my fault. Not yours, mine. That's all I have to say, I'm not the most literary person but... I figured you should know this.**

######  **Sincerely, Sakakura Juzo**

###### 

Munakata was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless, just when he thought that life couldn't get any sort of worse for him, it did. Sakakura... loved him? Loved **him** , the man responsible for his death? Munakata didn't know how to feel, or act, or do anything past the point of shutting down. 

That meant... Sakakura was silently suffering throughout Munakata's and Yukizome's relationship, and he was still a steadfast friend and subordinate. And what did that get him? Stabbed in the stomach and left for dead, and even then... he still sacrificed his life to save everyone else. To save... Munakata. Everything was flipped on its head, and Munakata didn't know what to think anymore. He didn't know how to think. 

Yukizome had always joked that Sakakura had a crush on Munakata, and every time he laughed it off. But how many times had those words cut deep? How many times had being around the couple broken his heart? How many times had Sakakura blamed himself for everything? No, it wasn't Sakakura's fault, it was Munakata's. Again and again, it was his fault and his alone. 'Don't blame yourself'? No, how could he not blame himself.

( _ooh, another thing you didn't know, how predictable. Sakakura loved you, and felt so guilty he was willing to fuck up the whole world! priceless! i guess everyone around you is as selfish and cowardly as you are, no wonder you're like the way you are. kyahahahahahahaha!_ )

"Shut it! Sakakura wasn't cowardly or weak, he was - he was a good person!" Munakata yelled, finally responding to some sort of stimulus.

( _yeah you're right, he wasn't. he just loved you so much, and what did you do? you stabbed him in the heart! ha! well, stomach, but you get my point. he died saving you because he loved you, and you didn't care about him at all, did you? if you did, he wouldn't have died now, would he? and what about Yukizome, if you cared about her she could've been saved from despair **and** death! but no you had to go and fuck up everything right? everything is **always** your fault, right?_ )

"I know it is," Munakata said softly, trying so hard not to cry. "It always is, Sakakura had... feelings for me, and if I had just been more supportive maybe he wouldn't have been so alone and he wouldn't have given in to Enoshima. And if I had paid more attention to Yukizome instead of trying to eradicate despair then I could've seen something wrong with her, and protected her..."

( _no shit honey, if you weren't a complete and total fuckup about everything, then it all could've been avoided. but now that you finally realize how much you've hurt and betrayed the people you say you cared about, you're just... broken. ha, how weak, how cowardly, how... you._ )

"Stop. You're just repeating what you've already said, and it's not helping anyone." Munakata said, getting annoyed. He was so tired of hearing the voice. He was so tired of feeling, he was so tired of life.

( _oh now you fight back, great, if only you could have shown this kind of determination and fight when the Final Killing Game was going on, then you could have saved everyone then, huh? and i might be repeating myself but only because you're so fucking thick headed that i have to say something thousands of times before you actually get it. and it seems you finally have. everything is your fault, you don't deserve anything. go die. actually, don't. cause then you might get to see Yukizome and Sakakura again, and honestly, you don't deserve that, you piece of shit._

"I don't even... deserve to die? I deserve nothing. I am nothing, why would they ever love me? How could they ever love me?! **Why** would they ever love me?! I can't... I don't... I... miss them. I miss them. But I don't deserve them, I don't deserve their love. How could I ever deserve their love and respect? I..." Munakata's words were breaking between the sobs.

He was yelling and screaming, hoping that it would destroy the pain constricting his heart. But it didn't help, nothing helped. The voice was laughing in his head, laughing at him. Soon it was all he could hear, it was consuming his mind, his very being, as it slowly destroyed his very soul.

He was bucking and kicking, lying on the ground in emotional agony. Until he stood up and started destroying the office. He grabbed anything he could and smashed it, not caring if it was Sakakura's or if it was cutting him, he broke everything he got his hands on. It was all destruction, chaos, **despair**. It was all meaningless, all of it, he didn't care, he just didn't. 

Everything was shattering and smashing, the noise of destruction was mixed with his own screams of rage, anguish, loss, and guilt. It was only until he was about to smash a picture of the three of them that he stopped. It was a picture of them in high school, with Yukizome in the middle and Sakakura on the left and Munakata on the right. She was pulling them in for a picture.

Munakata brought it up to his forehead and pressed the picture against his head. Tears streaming down his face, tears for the dead. It was useless.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you both to die. Neither one of you should've died because of me, I'm so sorry." Munakata whispered.

Everything was silent as he sobbed for them, for the dead, for his friends and for his colleagues. For everyone whose life was lost because of the killing game. He gripped his sword with his hand, he had been using to help destroy Sakakura's office. Everything was peaceful until the voice returned.

( _aww, too bad, you could've destroyed everything in Sakakura's office, maybe that would've made you feel better, or not. but did you suffer? i hope you did._ )

"Stop...please...stop. Go away, stop. Stop. Stop! I don't care anymore, just stop!" Munakata screamed, wanting his own mind to implode.

( _i'll never stop, i can't stop. i'll be with you until the day you die, and even beyond. i'm the truth you run and cower from. i speak what you can never accept, and i do it proudly. if you don't like it, well, who cares if you don't like it, you're stuck with it fuckwad._ )

"You're only my subconscious, you aren't real. You will not affect me." Munakata said, repeating it to himself, not the voice, but to himself. He needed some form of comfort and this was the only thing he could think of right now.

( _i'm as real as you. i can and will affect you, i have actually and you just haven't realized. but who cares, either way, i'm sticking with you until you die like you deserve too._ )

"Go away, I beg of you, leave me alone, I know that everything that's happened is because of me and I don't need you to tell me about it anymore." Munakata pleaded.

( _i'm never leaving, god, when are you going to get that? you're an idiot who can't understand the simplest words on top of being a selfish dickwad who had the ability to save everyone but didn't? you're so bad that it's practically unrealistic._ )

"Leave me alone, please." Munakata whispered, defeated.

( _why should i do that? you killed Sakakura, abandoned Yukizome, failed to save everyone and could've stopped Enoshima but also completely fucked that up. you are a useless and worthless human being, no one is left to care about you. no one. because you killed them all._ )

Munakata couldn't speak as its words reverberated in his mind, the truth of its speech slowly filling every inch of his body. Because it was right, no one was left to care about him and no one was left for him to care about. There was no point in him existing anymore, was there? And the world had hope now, in the form of Makoto. Hope's Peak and the new and improved Future Foundation.

There was no point anymore, he had tortured Sakakura and Yukizome because they loved him. He could have saved everyone if he had been more observant. The voice was right, he didn't deserve to live. He didn't deserve anything at all. He didn't... he didn't. 

He couldn't even finish the thought before a new one blasted through his mind. One that would remedy everything.

He thought of Yukizome and Sakakura as he raised and steadied right hand in front of his stomach. He thought about all of his colleagues as he closed his one good eye and smiled. And thought of the world as he took his left hand, wrapped it around his right, and plunged the sword he was holding, through his stomach.

He screamed as it went through abdomen almost like butter, and kept on whimpering in pain until the tip of the sword pierced his entire body and came out of his back.

He fell to his knees, trying not to flop onto the floor. If he did, the sword would be pushed in farther. His whole body was in pain, horrible gruesome pain. He could feel the blood and bile rising in his throat as he tried not to look at the sword protruding from his stomach. It was stained with blood.

What was he thinking? Choosing a death so pitiful and cowardly and so full of... blood. He couldn't stand the sight of blood, so why would he stain himself with it? Why would he do something so... self-serving? Why, why... why...

( _despair, silly!_ ) The voice... it was getting stronger, why was it getting stronger? It sounded feminine and young instead of its normal whispery tone. And his vision, while it was getting murky and cloudy, a shape was definitely appearing in front of him. It looked like...like...! 

( _That's right fucko! Junko-Despair-Enoshima is back to her old tricks! Making losers like you fall into despair and watching you suffer, isn't it, like, the best thing in the whole damn world?_ )

"The voice I was hearing..." Munakata said, gasping for air as he felt his lungs getting weaker and weaker, in fact, he could barely sit up.

" _That's right, it was me all along. See, I got bored of hanging with that Chisa-slut and all those other Hope's Peak losers and watching the real world move on from my big splash. Sad really, I can't believe the world abandoned something like despair! Welp, all the more for me I guess! Anyways, since I was dead I tried to see if I could do any of that haunting shit. All I had to do was leave the theater and **BAM** I was back in the real world!_ " She said, taking a more solid shape by the second.

"Why...are you... getting str-stronger?" Munakata choked out, he was getting... so... weak, he flopped onto his side. The ground cracked against his head, making him hiss. 

"Duh, it's because **you're** dying, so you can sense me better! Such a moron, honestly. Oh and before you ask, which I know you will, why I convinced you to fall into despair, lose all hope and kill yourself, I'll answer that right now. See, call me petty if you want, but I wanted some revenge against Future Foundation, so I decided to go after the weakest link. Normally I would go after Naegi, but revealing that I'm the reason you're dying when you hated me _so_ much, if that's not despairing then I don't know what is! Upupupupupupu!" She laughed, holding her stomach and stomping her feet.

"Not to mention seeing you throw away Yukizome's **and** Sakakura's sacrifices, ha! That. Was. The. BEST! I can just imagine their faces in the afterlife now, all heartbroken and shit, ha!" Junko said, gaining some composure. 

She looked at Munakata, her smile slipped away and her body and face changed to her teacher persona. "It seems you're almost dead, too bad. I expected you to last longer."

Munakata refused to give her an answer. He screwed his eyes shut, and closed his mouth. She shrugged her arms, turned around and started walking away. Surprisingly, her boots made no sound on the floor as she walked out of the room, in search of her next victim. Maybe it would be Makoto or one of her remnants. She wasn't sure yet.

Munakata released blew out a breath of air he didn't know he had been holding in, he could feel himself growing weaker by the minute. He shuddered as the sword shifted inside of him, cutting into more of his organs. He felt like crying and sobbing, but he forced himself not to. He wanted to die with at least some shred of dignity. 

Munakata felt himself slipping away, the ground below him was completely soaked with blood and every second he was coughing up blood and vomit on himself. When he stabbed himself, that wasn't despairing. This was, knowing that he had fallen for Junko's tricks, that he had made everyone's sacrifices meaningless... that was despair. He closed his eyes and pretended he couldn't hear Junko laughing.

"I-I'm sorry Yukizome, Sakakura, everyone, I just wasn't... strong... e-enough..." Munakata said, with his last dying breath. He closed his eyes and the world faded. 

###### 

It was two days before anyone found the body, of course, the Future Foundation was immediately notified of Kyosuke Munakata's apparent suicide. They found the body clutching two letters, both from Juzo Sakakura. One to Munakata and one to Chisa Yukizome. There was a small and quick funeral for him, and no one showed up. Except for Makoto Naegi. 

Something happened at that funeral, the officiator went missing. And Makoto was forever changed, something about a voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't originally planned to make it end this way, but halfway through writing this chapter I got hit with inspiration and a desire to make myself and others cry. So here we are, and I'm totally not crying. Totally. It's a lie! Of course, I'm crying because how could I do that to Munakata!? Because I'm an evil person, that's why. This is going to continue because I refuse to let myself end with Munakata being forgotten! But I wanted to get my main angst out of the way. Ehh and for the Junko twist... I didn't let myself think too hard. This is 3,000 fucking words. That's both of my previous chapters combined, woo! I have grown in skill. But I'm not going to be able to forgive myself. Every time I see Munakata, I'm going to apologize. Because... I fucked things up good. Comments and feedback are appreciated, toodles!


	4. Munakata's Death Announcement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to leave it off like that, I wanna focus on the reactions to his death before I turn this into a series where Junko does the exact same things until she's stopped. So... yep. Sorry that it took so long... I got distracted by binge-watching the entire TFS DBZ Abridged series, and then TFS Renegade for Life. So... yeah that took a while.

Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Hope, and the Headmaster at the New Hope's Peak Academy, still helped run the Future Foundation. After the Final Killing Game, there was no one left to take up the mantle that Tengan had left behind, and Munakata... wasn't keen on trying. Although Makoto wanted to put all of his efforts into the new school, someone had to do something to help the organization. So he became it's temporary leader until they found someone to replace him, but he still gave advice from time to time.

So he was puzzled when he got an e-mail from the Future Foundation's current leader, usually, they were pretty self-sustaining and hadn't contacted Naegi in months. So why would they be sending him an e-mail? He clicked on the message and almost choked on the bagel he was eating as he read it.

**Dear Naegi Makoto,**

**  
**

**We thought it best to inform you that Munakata Kyosuke was found dead two days ago. The cause of death was blood loss stemming from the stomach region. The wound was caused by a sword being pushed through his abdominal area. However, the act does not seem to indicate murder, rather suicide. The body was found clutching two letters from his deceased colleague, Juzo Sakakura, one to Munakata Kyosuke himself and one to his other deceased colleague, Yukizome Chisa.**

**Out of respect for the dead we decided it best that we not read the letters, lest we have the ranks of Future Foundation finding out what could have caused one of their most influential members to commit suicide. We have decided that the circumstances surrounding his death will be kept quiet, the knowledge of such an inspiring figure falling into such deep depths of despair as to commit suicide would take away the fragile hope we have created.**

**We do not wish to take such measures of disrespect against the dead but it is necessary for today's world and today's people, hope is a very rare thing to find in the world and this would chip away at what the Future Foundation has left. Which isn't much to start with.**

**As per Future Foundation regulation we have attempted to contact any next of kin however when we attempted to do so... we were unsuccessful. Kyosuke Munakata has no next of kin, nor any close colleagues that could be possibly invited to the funeral service.**

**The funeral service will not take place at the public Future Foundation cemetery, but instead, it has been decided that the best way to honor the dead and keep his death away from the public eye is to spread his ashes into the ocean. There will be one officiator there to confirm the funeral, and to spread the ashes if no one appears at the service.**

**We at the Future Foundation formally invite you to attend the service. You, Kirigiri Kyouko, Asahina Aoi and Yasuhiro Hagakure, all survivors of the Final Killing Game, have gotten the same message. The service will take place at Thursday, 8:00 pm.**

**Hopefully you all had some sort of kinship with him, but it is very much unlikely. But during the horror show that you all had to endure maybe some sort of friendship was born from the bloody chaos of despair.**

**Formally, Future Foundation.**

Makoto was silent - shocked into not moving - and he almost couldn't believe it. Munakata, the Munakata who had fervently believed in his morals so much he was willing to kill, had died. Not just any death, but suicide?! The mere thought of him doing such a feat was nigh impossible to Makoto.

Munakata... he should have seen it. When he had said that he had his own burden to bear, Makoto hadn't realized how much it hurt him to carry it. How much it was crushing him each step he took. Maybe what Munakata said before was right... maybe his hope was hollow? Maybe, the voice inside him whispered, maybe. 

Makoto was still sitting at his desk that was cluttered with papers, his bagel had long been dropped onto the floor, and his hand was pressed up against his mouth. He wasn't going to cry, he hadn't known the man at all but still... it didn't make it any less sad.

Should he have tried harder to get to know Munakata? Maybe he shouldn't have ignored him as much as he did. Makoto knew that Munakata almost had no one left but... Makoto had to rebuild Hope's Peak. And right now that reason didn't seem so important, not important enough to ignore someone over.

He closed his laptop so he couldn't see the e-mail anymore, his hand moved from his mouth to his head in an attempt to calm a raging migraine that was about to hit. He thought that maybe despair was done, that it might not affect him anymore. He was wrong, he was so wrong. Despair would always haunt him, it would always haunt the people around him.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear it when the door opened. His eyes were covered by his hand, and his other hand was resting on the closed laptop. The figure leaned against the doorknob. It wasn't until they coughed that he looked at them.

"Kirigiri? What are you doing?" Makoto said, shocked, as he practically jumped up in his seat.

She gave an almost-smile but quickly reverted into her normal cold state, "One of the new teachers was wondering if we should have the... _tragedy_ as part of the history curriculum?"

"The tragedy? You don't mean..." He started to say. 

"Yes, _that_ tragedy. The one who asked, Ms. Mori, was the one that came up with the idea of more mixed courses. You know, between the main course and the regular course." Kirigiri added, picking lint off of her gloves.

That was another thing to get used to, they did house talented students and regular students and they did separate them for some classes, but not to the extent that it was before. Except for specific classes, they all had the same campus, teachers and extra classes. They didn't want certain people to be put on pedestals. 

"Oh... well it's history, isn't it? If we just sweep things under the rug then are we not no better than the old Hope's Peak? Hiding it will do no good, it won't help anyone." He said firmly, putting all of his passion into those few sentences.

Kirigiri smiled and shook her head, her long hair swaying from side-to-side, "Just what I expected from you, Naegi, or should I say... Headmaster Naegi?"

His face flushed bright red at the thought of Kirigiri calling him something so... important. He stammered out a no while she just smirked, he smiled back and scratched the back of his head nervously. In many ways, he was still a teenager and that included his dealings with the opposite sex.

After a few more minutes of idle conversation, Kirigiri turned to leave. Makoto smiled and opened his laptop, the grim e-mail was waiting for him. The smile left his face immediately, and Kirigiri noticed.

His once joyful demeanor had gone rigid with horror, his smile was frozen in place while his eyes screamed with silent guilt. He had forgotten that the e-mail was waiting for him and that at the bottom, was a picture of the body.

Munakata's skin was pale, devoid of life and blood. Well, except for the blood that seemed to in a giant pool around his body, and the blood that was soaking his clothes, staining the right side of his suit crimson instead of white, and who could forget the blood that was smeared upon his face and arms as he tried to stretch them outwards, to salvation, to.... _hope_.

Makoto hadn't noticed it before, the e-mail itself was short so there was no need to scroll lower. No need... to see Munakata's skewered body. The way his intestines seemed to leak out of the shifted sword wounds. It seems he had tried to dislodge it before dying, making the wound bigger and bigger. More gruesome and gruesome, his eyes were cloudy color, and feces and urine was evident.

The body's last failure, releasing all muscles and expelling everything it has inside of it. It only added tot he horrific agony Munakata must have felt, feeling his body slowly draining of life, slowly stopping every one of it's normal, every day, functions. It was terrifying to Makoto, he had seen death, but it mostly fast, quick, and speedy deaths, not slow and agonizing like Munakata's.

Makoto wanted to vomit, he wanted to forget what he had seen. Forget that he had ever known Munakata, forget that he had ever laid eyes on the man that was now dead. Gone forever because of himself, he stabbed himself in the stomach because he couldn't handle... what? What couldn't he handle? Makoto would never know because Munakata was a mystery that would never be solved.

Munakata would never have friends again, would never see another sunrise or sunset, he wouldn't smile or cry. He was gone. Dead. And he was only... 25? Maybe 26. So much left of his life to live, and it was gone forever. Huh, Makoto would never get used to it. People suddenly being there and then not. Not death, death was so familiar. But disappearance, the fact that one's existence could be erased so easily. It bothered Makoto.

Munakata had existed, he was a person and now... now... he was dead. Death, so familiar, not at all a mystery to Makoto but... soon all proof that Munakata had actually existed would be gone, lost to the world. But... he was a person. He was important! So was everyone else who died, everyone else who had dreams and hope but nothing was left of them now. Gone. Disappeared. Forever and ever.

Makoto's body was frozen in the middle of an existential crisis. His face had gone pale with fear and intense thought, and Kirigiri was staring at him in a curious manner, wondering what he had seen. It was... odd. Seeing Makoto so panicked, scared... terror-stricken? Was that a word? Kirigiri brushed off the thought and decided that she would just look it up later.

Kirigiri's position shifted so she had her gloved hand underneath her chin and a cold and calculating glint was in her eyes, she looked at his posture and facial expressions a couple of seconds before asking what was wrong.

Makoto quickly shook off the fugue state that was seemed to be slowly enveloping his body and looked at Kirigiri with eyes haunted that are haunted by ghosts. She almost looks surprised but quickly shuts down that emotion before it can go anywhere substantial. She looks at him expectantly, wanting to what haunts the face of hope.

"D-Did you get an e-mail? About... Muna-Munakata? From Future Foundation?" He asked, a panicky edge to his normally calm and cavalier voice.

Kirigiri shook her head and tapped her finger against her chin, an e-mail? Her computer had apparently gotten a minor virus and was currently being fixed so she hadn't had the chance to check her e-mail at all. She looked at Makoto again and gestured for him to go on.

"Apparently... he died. He... oh geez... I think you should just read the e-mail." He quickly turned the laptop away from himself and towards Kirigiri, before doing so he scrolled to the top of the e-mail so she wouldn't see the attached picture. 

It took a minute or two before Kirigiri was done reading the e-mail before she saw the picture, her composure had not broken and she wasn't showing any sort of emotion. She was logical and cold. It was safe to be logical and cold. Emotions were dangerous.

"So... Kyosuke Munakata is dead. I can safely say that I didn't see that one coming. It does seem odd that a man like him would commit suicide but... the evidence does point to it except..." She trailed off, lost in thought.

"What? What does it mean?" Makoto asked, wanting to know if maybe instead of suicide it was... murder.

"I just find it odd that a man who would commit suicide would try and crawl away, and after he rammed a sword through his stomach? It doesn't quite add up, but maybe he did change his mind at the end. There's no other proof to suggest otherwise anyways." Kirigiri said, mumbling the words.

"Maybe he didn't after all! This is Munakata, there's no way that he'd do something like this, even if it's wrong, he still believes in some sort of hope!" Makoto said, his voice getting more chipper by the minute.

"Think about this Naegi, his hope was Future Foundation and his friends, he didn't have any family left. His friends died, and he suffers guilt from that, and Future Foundation ended up being partly corrupt. His hopes were crushed. And besides, look at the way the sword is angled, it's impossible for someone else to get that one angle. They'd have to be the exact same height as Munakata and stab him in just the right place. It's not physically possible." She said sternly. 

"M-Maybe it's like Sakura? Maybe he did it because someone was trying to do something and the only way out was to die! Maybe he-" Makoto tried to continue on.

"This isn't like Sakura's death! Her death was for hope and you could sense that from the way she died, but this... this was messy, cruel and chaotic. It was despair, he lost all hope for a moment Naegi. And for a man like him... it was enough to push him over the edge." She finished solemnly.

Makoto was silent, shocked by Kirigiri interrupting him like that. She sounded like she impatient with him like he was a moron. She hadn't been like that since... Hope's Peak. It was scary. More than that, it was unnerving seeing her like that.

Kirigiri looked at Makoto's shocked face and realized that she had almost yelled at him, when... when had she done that? She didn't realize that she had almost lost it, and what, over Munakata? It was no secret that Kirigiri wasn't friendly with him, that she detested the man. After all, he had tried to kill her and her friends. But... knowing that he had done this, that he had lost to despair, it... confused her. It made her annoyed and angry.

"Sorry for yelling Naegi. But... it's impossible for him to have been murdered, but what would make Munakata commit suicide? I know how adamantly he was opposed to despair... it just seems odd for him to give in such a violent way." Kirigiri says, nodding her head towards Makoto.

Makoto nodded, slightly relieved but still on edge. She had almost lost it and that was just unheard of for Kyoko Kirigiri, who was known as a cold and impersonal person. For fuck's sake, she even licked saliva out of a corpse's mouth! She's as cold as any person can possibly be and yet... she lost her cool.

"I get it, Kirigiri, but... I just didn't want to believe that he could do such a thing to himself." Makoto said, looking away from her face and steadying his gaze on his feet.

"Did you forget, Naegi?" She said, also looking away from him, "He stabbed his best friend when he believed that he was tainted by despair. Munakata is a desperate man willing to do desperate things, and although right now, we might be unable to fathom why he would do such a thing... it's not entirely unlikely."

"I-I get it, Kirigiri, it's fine! I know you didn't mean it... just... we could have prevented it, you know? If we maybe had tried a little harder to understand him, then he might not have done this. He might have talked to someone!" Makoto said, his fists clenching in anger.

"Or he maybe he would have still done it, we don't know his reasons, Naegi. You must remember that this is something that we'll never truly understan-" She stopped in the middle of the sentence.

"K-Kirigiri?" Makoto asked, unsure of why she suddenly stopped speaking.

"Didn't the e-mail say that he was found clutching letters? Letters from his dead colleague, Juzo Sakakura?" Kirigiri asked, sounding exasperated.

"Yeah, and...?" Makoto said, getting impatient with the conversation.

"Perhaps the reason for him committing suicide was in those letters? If you read them, maybe then you'd understand." She said, sounding firm in the idea.

"B-But I can't! Those letters must have been important to him, and besides... I'm not that curious as to do something so disrespectful to the dead." He said, forcing his arms to his sides.

"I wasn't suggesting that you do so, Naegi, I was merely relaying a possible theory. But that does bring up another point, are you going to go to his funeral service? If I remember right it was going to be held at the... ocean? I do suggest you e-mail them back if you want the exact place the funeral is going to be held at." She said, shifting her position so her arm bent upwards while her other one was still across her torso.

"I... I want to go. I might not have known Munakata that well, but no one should be alone at their funeral. It's horrible." Makoto said.

"Well, you better do it soon. I'm afraid I won't be able to go, I have to interview some new students on Thursday, and I believe you know that I cannot miss it. Others will not be as careful as me when screening students because if I don't go then they might accidentally let a remnant in." Kirigiri said, putting her arm across her other arm and closing her eyes.

Makoto nodded in understanding, he walked over and sat down at his desk. Kirigiri lingered for a few moments before walking towards the doorway. Makoto sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. Kirigiri stopped at the doorway leading out of Makoto's office, her hand lingering on the frame. She seemed to pause before speaking, collecting her thoughts.

"Naegi, if there's one thing to remember in this situation, it's this. Don't blame yourself, because I know that you do. There's nothing that could have stopped this, Naegi. So there's no use in blaming someone." Kirigiri says, nodding her head along with this statement, as soon as she finishes she leaves the room leaving behind nothing but the echoes of her footsteps.

Makoto is shocked at her statement, how could she know, how could she possibly know? He almost smacks himself in the head, of course, she knows because she's Kyoko Kirigiri. The Ultimate Detective, she's no one's fool. He almost laughed at himself. He grabbed the phone on his desk and started calling some people to help clear his schedule for Thursday and where was the best place to get a suit on short notice.

When he was done he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands down his face like he was trying to peel off his skin and become something new. What he wouldn't give for that to be true. He thought about Thursday, he had gotten an exact place and it wasn't too far from where he lived, which was Hope's Peak. He thought about life and death, and everything in between. Anything to keep his mind off of blaming himself. It didn't work.

**Thursday, 8:00 pm.**

Despite the fact that Makoto had been preparing for this funeral for a few days, he was scared. Scared that he would chicken out and not go because he knew no one else would go. No one else who had survived the Final Killing Game genuinely liked Munakata, and they were all busy they said. He knew they were lying but he could understand why they didn't want to go.

He arrived on the site about 10 minutes before the funeral started, he had expected to see more people but there was no one besides one other person, the officiator. The officiator was Haruto Riku, a man who was quiet and didn't say much. 

The funeral was on a cliff by the ocean, the cliff was covered in grass and rocks littered the pathways up there, a few giant boulders were overlooking the ocean. It was quite scenic and beautiful, really, a horrible place for a funeral service. 

Weren't funerals supposed to depressing ordeals, a time of mourning and solemness? So why was the service being held on top of a cliff that had a great view of the ocean and the setting sun. The sun reflected off of the water making it look orange and yellow, it truly was beautiful.

When they finished climbing up to the top of the cliff, they walked out to the edge, Makoto looked down at the water and winced. He got vertigo from simply glancing down at the waves crashing against the rocks, was horrible. They were about 300 feet up above the water and rocks, the ocean was calm and peaceful except when it ran against the base of the cliff.

Makoto glanced at Haruto Riku, the officiator, to see what he was doing. Haruto was a man in his late forties, with thinning black hair, a pudgy body, and small glasses. He was wearing a backpack. He had pulled the backpack off of his back and swung it around until it was in front of him, he opened it and pulled out a simple black cannister. It was a cylinder shape a little silver latch.

On the bottom was a label, Kyosuke Munakata. It was his urn. Makoto started to panic. This was real, this was really real. Munakata was actually dead and no one besides Makoto had shown up to his funeral. The officiator coughed and grabbed a notebook from the backpack.

"Do you know if he was religious?" Haruto asked, stumbling through his words.

"I... I didn't know him very well, so... no. Maybe something neutral?" Makoto asked.

"Okay then. I can try," Haruto said, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts before he opened the notebook and chose a page, "Munakata Kyosuke was a hardworking and dedicated man, he truly cared about putting hope into the world and restoring it piece by piece. It is a true loss we have suffered to be without his wonderful guidance and effort. He was a truly great person and a better colleague. We can only hope that he's in a better place. Rest in peace, Munakata."

Haruto bowed his head for a moment of silence, Makoto did the same. It was a very short eulogy, a very generic one. After the moment of silence was over, Haruto started trying to unclasp the urn.

"Actually," Makoto began, "Can I say a few words?"

Haruto nodded, gesturing for Makoto to continue. He released the urn from his grasp and just held it with one arm dangling loosely at his side.

"Munakata Kyosuke," Makoto began, "was a man of strong beliefs. He really did believe in the message of hope, and he believed in his friends. He once told me that hope was a burden to carry, and he wasn't wrong. He also said that he had his own burden to carry, and obviously, he wasn't lying. I didn't know him very well, and in the time that I did know him, he tried to kill me. Multiple times, he wasn't a bad person, he just had bad influences. But in the end, it didn't matter. I'm sad he's gone, and I hope he made peace with himself at the end."

Haruto nodded and then gestured to the cylinder as if to ask if it was okay to open now that Makoto had made his speech. Makoto nodded back and Haruto unclasped the urn, revealing a couple of pounds of ash inside. Makoto gulped at the remains of Kyosuke Munakata.

Haruto walked over to the edge of the cliff, and slowly dumped out the urn. The wind quickly took hold of the ash, and for a brief moment, Makoto was afraid that the wind would blow it right back to them. But luckily it picked up and carried off the ash, making it streak through the sky. A stained gray wind flowing towards the ocean, it almost looked beautiful.

That was someone, that was a person, Makoto realized. And... he was gone. For good, no use worrying about it now. Makoto decided to take Kirigiri's advice and not blame himself. Munakata is dead, he killed himself and that's it. That's all, no need for any blame.

Sure, a voice inside of him whispered, sure. You know, it said again, they say that a coward never blames himself for anything, and you know who never blames himself? You! It giggled. It had an ethereal feel to it, it was there but he couldn't distinguish any sort of gender. It was... scary. Unreal.

Makoto stiffened, he heard a voice. A real-life voice, he wasn't dreaming or anything. It was speaking to him. It was talking to him... maybe it was his conscience? No, he told himself, no it wasn't. It's not healthy to hear voices, no matter what!

No shit Sherlock! It practically yelled, actually you're not Sherlock, you're too dumb! You won't even take credit for practically killing Munakata, and your classmates too! Oh, how cute. You think you're innocent, well you're not!

Makoto closed his eyes, the wind had picked up quite a lot and Haruto had started shivering, and... whimpering? That was odd, Makoto thought, why would he be whimpering? The wind hadn't picked up that much!

"Ca-Can you hear it? The voice?!" Haruto said, his whimpering getting louder, "It says you can hear it, it's saying other things too. It's saying terrible, terrible things."

"I... I can hear it, don't listen to it!" Makoto said, suddenly worried about Haruto, although he didn't know why, but the voice...

"It's saying things that hurt too much to listen too, things I can't bear to hear. Maybe this is what killed Munakata?" Haruto said, stepping closer to the edge of the cliff, only inches away from doom.

"Riku, please don't!" Makoto yelled, lunging forward to try and save him before he stepped off.

"The voice... remember the... voice..." Haruto said, before stepping off the cliff and into the vortex of sea and rock below.

"No!" Makoto yelled, falling to his knees.

Oh that's too bad, the voice said, I was hoping he'd last longer. I mean, it took me a couple of months to break down Munakata! But man, was that breakdown totally worth it! But... a word to the wise. Don't mention this incident, say Riku was a no-show. Trust me, it'll be better for everyone.

"No! I won't listen to you! I refuse to!" Makoto yelled, standing up with tears in his eyes.

Really, hanging onto your hope til' the very end? How like you, you hypocrite! I'm telling you, forget it!

"No, I'll remember you," Makoto said, closing his eys and putting his hand over his chest, "I'll remember you Voice of Despair!"


End file.
